Less Than Perfect
by Sanguied
Summary: HP/DM, Harry knew Malfoy was going to go off. It wasn't a matter of if, but when. Someone like Draco Malfoy couldn't suffer under the whispers, taunts, and the bulling in silence. Harry could see the strain Malfoy went through trying to ignore them, to avoid them, and to not give them cause. When Draco leaves, Harry goes off. (Some use of the adult language)


Written for a 3 hour challenge. Not my property with no money to be made.

If you see any mistakes please let me know so I can fix them.

Less than Perfect.

Harry knew Malfoy was going to go off. It wasn't a matter of if, but when. Someone like Draco Malfoy couldn't suffer under the whispers, taunts, and the bulling in silence. Harry could see the strain Malfoy went through trying to ignore them, to avoid them, and to not give them cause.

Harry tried to run interference, Ron and Hermione followed his lead and didn't attack Malfoy. He'd tried talking to his house, Ron and Hermione silent but standing beside him, but none of them took it seriously. The only person he'd seen actually trying to stop the abuse was Neville. While Ron and Hermione had been silence, Neville had spoken up, which Harry appreciated, though it hadn't really done anything to stop the rest of the school.

Even the Slytherins had thrown Draco out as a sacrifice, they didn't taunt him, but they did ignore him. They didn't speak to him or help him out. They distanced themselves as if they'd had nothing to do with the Death Eaters or their beliefs. As if by distance they could remove the stains upon their own names even the ones with parents in Azkaban.

When it finally happened, Harry had been looking at his pie, wondering why he'd come back to Hogwarts at all when the laughter started. He jerked his head up to see the reason he'd returned picking himself off the floor, next to him Ron bit off a chuckle.

Harry made to stand, but Draco was already on his feet, and Hermione grabbed his arm, "he's fine Harry, don't bring any more attention to it."

Draco leaned down to grab the last bit of his papers when someone sent an incendio, burning the papers to ash before he could grab them. Draco growled and stood, "Fuck it, I'm done." He threw down his bag and the room watched with bated breath as he stormed the doors and left the Great Hall.

Harry watched him go with lead in his stomach. He made to stand and threw off Hermione's hand, when she reached for him again. The lead turned to molten lava when someone began to clap and then everyone was clapping and laughing and Harry knew this was where he lost it too.

Several students went towards the door, 'to finish the job'. He threw up his hand as he stood, and the doors responded by slamming shut, stopping anyone from following Malfoy. He stood on the bench and then the table and said, "shut the fuck up." He didn't yell but he might as well have as the room went dead silent.

"Mr. Potter," McGonagall stood and called to him, shock in her voice.

He looked at her and whatever was on his face pushed her back into her seat.

"Harry?" Hermione stood from the table, Ron clumsily followed, and he looked down at them, his steady companions.

"Sit down and listen to me, because I'm not releasing the doors until I've had my say." He crossed his arms.

Hermione opened her month and he pointed to the bench. She sighed but humored him and Ron followed her lead, looking bewildered with the whole thing.

Harry clapped his hands, "So, by a show of hands, how many of you have heard and watched your mother beg and plead for your life? Actually had to listen to her begging for you, crying, come on anyone?" His voice was at once without feeling and yet so broken it hurt to hear it.

"Harry,"

He looked down to Hermione's pale face. "What are you doing? You don't have to,"

Ron grabbed her hand and looked up at him with a pain-filled expression, "Harry, mate, we all know what you hear around Dementors."

Harry smiled down at him, "I wasn't talking about me. Malfoy has also had the privilege."

Ron pulled Hermione closer, as pale as his girlfriend, who said, "no," with a horror filled voice.

Harry looked away from her and then back to the room at large, "no one then, all right that's just us." Harry looked around and tried to catch the eyes of students who'd lost parents in the war and kindly and softly asked, "is there anyone here who wouldn't do anything to save their parents?" He looked to Hermione last, the girl who had erased herself from her parent's minds to save them.

"Okay then, let's try this, who here has learned Occlumency by being mind-raped by Snape and Bellatrix until you can stop them? Having to work 24 hours a day to keep Dumbledore and Voldemort out of your head because they try to sneak into every single fucking thought you have." He rubbed the side of head, "they're all dead and my head still hurts," he chuckled. He looked around at the horrified faces, some shaking their heads, and looking to their friends. "Oh come on that can't be just me and Malfoy again, can it?" He looked around but no raised a hand or even met his eyes, "Well just us again then."

"Harry stop," Hermione whispered.

Harry shook his head, "No, here, let's see," Harry pretended to think.

"He took the mark."

Harry looked to Seamus, "I imagine you would have too, had you been given as many potions as Malfoy had and then held down by your own father, while Greyback held your mother in his arms."

Seamus scowled through he looked sick, "you don't know that."

Harry smiled sickly and tapped his head, "Oh but I do, Tom thought I'd enjoy his screams."

Seamus swallowed thickly and rubbed a hand over his mouth as he mumbled, "Oh my god."

People were really squirming now and several looked downright queasy.

Harry looked towards McGonagall as she stood again, "Harry, I think we,"

He actually growled at her, "You owe me this and you'll let me have it."

She paled and dropped into her seat with a startled nod.

"He let Death Eater's into the school!"

He didn't even identify who had called out, just that the whispers of agreement moved quickly around the room, but even they puttered off into shock when Harry laughed. He laughed even as he said, "do you honestly think that Dumbledore didn't know? Really? The man knew when you farted and you think he didn't know Malfoy was working on the fucking cabinet?" Harry straightened and said in an eerie reminder of Dumbledore, "sometimes young Mr. Potter awful things have to happen and we have to let them so the next stage may occur." Harry scowled.

"No, he couldn't have known," someone exclaimed and several variances called out the same.

Harry shrugged, "believe me or not, but he knew and _he let it happen_. What are you supposed to do when every adult around you is using you and you can't trust a single one of them? Anyone here had that woe?" He looked around briefly but most students seemed too shocked to even try, Harry rolled his shoulders, "so me and Malfoy again, becoming a theme here."

"He nearly killed Katie and he used imperius on Rosmerta." Harry nodded to Anthony, rather like he was thanking the boy for mentioning it.

"He also left Poppy the remedy for the necklace's poison and since he'd been ordered to kill Rosmerta the fact that he didn't, nor had her commit any serious crimes says something, doesn't it?" Harry answered with narrowed eyes and, having no response, Anthony looked away. "Malfoy held someone under the imperius for a whole year and yet never used that power on any of you."

"He was Voldemort's torturer, the papers all said so."

Harry recognized that prick Smith's voice anywhere. He clasped his hands behind his back, "I have been told that not even most adults can cast a strong cruciatus or imperius. I've also been told that the cruciatus was taught and used here while I was gone, largely to lackluster results. Most students were unable to create the curse and those who did were very weak, of which you should all be proud." He looked around the room, "Bellatrix once told me you have to mean to cause pain, but she wasn't quite right." Harry eyes took a faraway glazed look, "sometimes all you have to do is fear the outcome more if you don't. Sometimes you have to do horrible things because the alternative is even worse."

Harry shook his head, and offered a smile that was worse than the previous. "I'm told that both Malfoy and I are very talented with both pieces of dark magic. The first time I used the cruciatus, Mad-Eye Moody said I was a good boy and gave me chocolate frog," he looked up, trying to pull back from the memory, "he was so impressed because the man had broken over a hundred of his own bones while trying to get away from me." Harry smirked, "they said I had to teach them to fear me, isn't that right Headmistress?"

McGonagall dabbed at her face discreetly and took a couple of deep breaths, "You know I never agreed with what you were asked to do. You or Mr. Malfoy, you were both horribly mistreated."

"Horribly mistreated," he smiled with sickening delight, "huh, that must be the reason we can't sleep and have some lovely addictions to potions going on."

Hermione gasped and reached up to him. "Please Harry no more,"

Harry stepped back from her, "We've both made some shit decisions Malfoy and I, but we had less choice than any of you want to believe. I had as much of a choice to kill that bastard as Malfoy had to serve him, which was less than none. It's easy to blame him, but unless you were in his shoes, fuck off. You have no idea what he was going through, what he is going through."

Harry avoided Hermione's hands and jumped off the table, Hermione and Ron started to get up but Harry waved them off. He looked around the room noting how people wouldn't meet his eyes and how pale and horrified they looked. At the door he shook his head, "I can't believe I fucking died for you people." He slipped through the door.

Ginny jumped up from her seat shocked, but worried, hell she'd be as friendly with Malfoy as Harry wanted as long as he never looked like that again. She moved towards the door as Hermione and Ron joined her, half their house and then the school followed.

Next to Ginny, Hermione shook her head, "Damn-it, why didn't I just help him protect Malfoy."

"He doesn't ask for shit, all he wanted was that arse, should of just," Ron pushed against the door, which wouldn't give. He hit it with his palm, "Fuck," he recognized Harry's door lock, "we'll be here for at least ten minutes."

Hermione pulled her wand, "maybe less, if we work together."

Harry didn't know where Draco had gone to, he had a 20 minute start, but McGonagall was in the Great Hall so he couldn't have used her floo. He patted his pockets for the map, he had it somewhere.

"I heard you," Harry spun around to see Draco.

"Thank Merlin. I thought I had missed you." He looked the other boy over; who, besides some dark circles under his eyes, looked all right.

"I don't understand why did you defend me?" Draco didn't sound angry just defeated and Harry hated the lack of fire.

Harry rubbed his face and cringed at the heat he could feel rising on his cheeks, "you heard me, we have a lot in common and I hate how they treat you."

"I can't stay," Draco bit his lip and looked towards the Great Hall, "I just can't. I'm done with the lot of them."

"Then come with me." Harry held out his hand. Draco looked down at his hand for the longest moment of Harry's life, completely aware of what he was offering. Finally Draco took his hand and Harry clutched it tightly.

"Where will we go?" Draco asked, "my mother is under house arrest and my father is in Azkaban and your place is surrounded by the press."

"Trust me, Malfoy-Draco, please?"

Draco nodded, "All right Potter," Harry raised an eyebrow to which Draco rolled his, "fine Harry, I trust you."

"Good," he smiled, "they're not here anymore to control us. We can do or be anything we actually want, so what's your wildest dream Draco?"

Draco smiled a real smile, lacking everything but joy, "I don't know. I didn't plan on living through it."

"Me either, so let's find out." Harry pulled on Draco's hand, starting the boy to run a long side him.

Even with near about the whole Great Hall trying it still took them about 7 minutes to get the doors open. Ron called out as the students spread out, "Now remember if you find Malfoy alone for the love of Merlin don't attack him or I'll hex your ass."

People scattered, Headmistress McGonagall being one of the last to leave the Great Hall. She thoughtfully watched her students scatter and sadly closed the doors before she made her way to her office, where she was found an hour later by Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. The portraits had already told her what the students were tripping over each other to say. Harry's things were gone, yes, she knew, the elves had also taken Malfoy's. The portraits also told her the boys had left the castle. Hermione wanted to go Grimmauld place and since they were 8th years, and because she knew they wouldn't believe her when she told them Harry hadn't gone there, she sent Ginny back to her common room but let Hermione and Ron go check. Several minutes after they'd left they re-graced her fireplace and told her what she'd already had known.

She allowed them to brain storm in her office before giving them enough platitudes to get them to go back to their common room. She told them she'd contact Kingsley and anyone else she could think of and she would, but the fact was if Harry and Draco didn't want to be found, well. They were rich and magically powerful enough not to be found and large part of her thought they deserved to be free.

All of her contacts answered their floo but Mrs. Tonks, instead of leaving a message, she left some files and then reconnected with Ministry.

HPHPHP

"Principal McKay-Miller, your 2 o'clock is here." Jeannie stood and quickly ran an eye over herself. She wanted to make a good first impression. From what she'd already heard this woman was old-old Euro-money, willing to make large donations to the school she chose. She wasn't going to let Sharpe beat her out. She quickly tapped her phone, "send them in." She waved her wand towards the door, which opened at her command, even as she moved to the front of her desk to great them.

The woman entered and one look was all Jeannie needed to know that the old-old Euro-money was no false rumor. They didn't prescribe to the old fashion robes here in Canada, everyone having long ago adapted to muggle clothes. So it stood to reason that, though genteel and graceful, the woman seemed a touch awkward in her designer suit. She was beautiful and her red hair was styled into a lovely French twist. Jeannie would have called it a cold beauty if not for her warm smile.

They shook hands as Ms. Black said, "I'd like you to meet my son, Severus."

Jeannie looked to the boy with the dark blonde hair and silver eyes. She could already see the girls going absolutely out of their minds, the boy was gorgeous. He had also adapted better than his mother to the muggle styles, already wearing designer casual with an easy air.

"A pleasure to meet you Severus."

He smiled at her and she mentally upped the number of hexes girls were going to cast to get this one's attention.

"And this is Sirius Lupin, my step-grandson from my son-in-law's first marriage." Jeannie looked to the other boy and realized Severus had brought his only real competition for the girls with him. Sirius was stunning. He had light brown hair styled into a relaxed mess, sunglasses perched among the strands and his large jade eyes were amazing. The senior boys were going to hate her for letting these two through the doors. She glanced down to the baby carriage and saw Ms. Black's youngest charge fast asleep, as she looked up to address Sirius' greeting, she noticed their intertwined fingers and grinned.

She could hear the hearts breaking already. "Well boys ready for the tour?"

There may be an epilogue to this if anyone actually wants me to write one of when they return to England, but otherwise complete.


End file.
